Quilted purses

This project came about because I fell in love with the "quilted fabrics". They were so beautiful and I was so amazed that someone had "quilted' fabric and now all you had to do was use it? I thought the chicken fabric would be perfect for my "country" friend who had chickens. When problems used to over whelm us - we would take a glass of lemonade out to the chickens and just sit and watch them solve problems and it seemed to always lighten our load?

The red and white fabric made me think of my daughter-in-law#1 because she was always talking about wanting to paint a red rose on the hood of her car, so I thought I would make a Mother/daughter double for her and her daughter.

I was amazed that a project so small could have so many pieces and of course there was a zipper involved-another one of my "secret fears". For some reason you just mention zippers or buttons and my heart still sinks.I am beginning to think it will take my entire lifetime to "maybe" overcome these fears.

On this project Lynne introduced me to a product that was a zipper that you bought as a roll of what ever length and you purchased ever how many zippers and then when you cut a zipper of what-ever size you wanted - you just added your zipper? I was amazed. One time Lynne made the comment that it took so little to make me happy and she was SO right - all of these amazing features just AMAZES me when it comes to the sewing world?

Another thing that I really adored about the quilted fabric was the fact that you did not have to plan for a lining inside your project because the fabric is quilted on both sides and looks nice on both sides - a real plus for me!

A second feature that stuck me while I was working was the fact that the pieces looked so small while I was cutting them out, but the finished purse really held a lot-yet it was lightweight to carry and was soft on my bad shoulder?

The one thing I did not like was the straps? I liked the soft part - but when it came to opening the purse those dumb straps were always in my way?????????? I am still trying to figure out that part of the equation. +